(1 of )Drakes Beach (PD FILE, 2004)

Swimmer missing off Point Reyes National Seashore

A search for a missing swimmer resumed Tuesday morning near Drakes Beach in the Point Reyes National Seashore.

The man disappeared at about 2 p.m. Monday while swimming across the mouth of Drakes Estero when the tide was out.

The man, who is believed to be from the Bay Area and in his early 20s, was with friends and family at Drakes Beach when they decided to swim across the mouth to Limantour Beach, said John Dell’Osso, national seashore spokesman. Dell’Osso estimated the swim across was about a half-mile.

The man disappeared under the water on the way back. The group was swimming against an incoming tide.

A search began, involving National Park Service rangers, Sonoma County sheriff’s helicopter Henry 1, Marin County Fire’s water team, South Marin Fire’s dive team and a Coast Guard helicopter. The search was suspended after sunset Monday and resumed Tuesday morning.

“It’s still an active search. We’re not calling it a drowning,” Dell’Osso said. “There’s still hope being held out.”